Ghana will be a better side in 2020 Awcon, says Sherifatu

The striker has assured that the Black Queens will improve their performance in the next Awcon edition

Ghana women's national team striker Sherifatu Suleiman says they could have done better at the ongoing Africa Women Cup of Nations following their elimination in the group stage.

The Black Queens, hosts, were sent home after a defeat to Mali in the second group game. They were unable to produce the result needed to get them through to the semi-finals as a 1-1 stalemate against Cameroon dashed their hopes to at least stand a chance of qualifying to the Fifa Women's World Cup.

"I know we could have done better. We have a quality team, we have a great team spirit," the 22-year-old told ESPN.

"We gave 100 per cent of our abilities, but we lacked that needed touch to make it [out of the group]. It's disappointing to be host of a major tournament and exit so early. I'm disappointed, my colleagues are disappointed."

"We did our best to make Ghanaians proud. We did our best to host and win, but our best wasn't enough to reach the World Cup or win the trophy.

"I think in the next two years, we could be much stronger and improve our performance. We are young and can improve. For the first time playing for the senior women's team and in the Awcon, I realised that there are a lot of bigger fishes in the pond, which is a motivation for me to work even harder," she said.

"I have the urge to become better and take my game to the next level. Playing these high-profile games will offer me a quicker development because I have to keep up with the good, stronger players in an environment designed to test me.

"While playing this tournament, I am exposed to a faster paced, more experienced game. I have to develop my understanding of the game faster to stand a chance.

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"Playing in competitive games and tournaments, I will be more likely to get noticed," she added.

Cameroon defeated Mali 4-2 in the third-place match on Friday to join Nigeria and South Africa, who will battle for the ultimate trophy on Saturday, as Africa's representatives at the 2019 Fifa Women's World Cup holding in France.